A look at covert animated characters with an inside joke

Okay, so I'm sitting here or should I say laying here watching my favorite show The Simpsons and I take a look at Chief Wiggums, the police officer from Springfield. 

Then it hits me how bizarre he looks. He doesn't even look human compared to the rest of Springfield. Right before this I'd been watching the truffle episode of the show.

Which was quite interesting because it was like Bart and Lisa were having their own adventure going through the forests in search of truffles. But then Marges sister and Fat Tony had their entirely separate episode almost within the episode.

So regarding the truffles. 

A chef had a truffle sniffing pig. Strikingly similar to Spiderpig (Does whatever Spider Pig does LOL)

When my eyes went from the pig scene then to the Chief Wiggums scene I literally thought I was seeing double.

Now if you take a look at his son Ralph. You don't spot the same features. 

That pig like nose or should I say snout is missing. While everyone else in the show seems to have a nose shape similar to a finger tip he's the only one with a blatant pig nose. Lol

That's a clear indication that his job position plays a part in his appearance. I'm sure were all familiar with the term "Pig" being used to refer to police by now. A derogatory term.

Am I what you call a major changer? From Journalism to the mental health field

Okay, so it all started when I was 11 years old.
No wait, let's actually start from the very beginning. Young AGC age 7. Do you guys remember password journals?  I actually had two. It had voice recognition. It was so funny because me being so spontaneous would have tremendous difficulty opening my journal. That was because although it was my name. I had said it different ways on different days than how I had originally recorded it. Sometimes I'd be so excited I'd be yelling AGC! or so tired I'd whisper a low A-G-C. I can actually remember myself prying it open, basically breaking it. LOL!

Well way before I had the luxury of getting that I had your traditional journal with the lock and key on it. I would write every single day. My deepest inner most secrets, thoughts and emotions. The first one I can remember is a journal I got at one of those famous Scholastic book fairs. Those among many other things were the highlight of my childhood.

It was purple and furry with butterflies and a furry pen to match. Lilac or lavender to be exact.







As a kid I'd spend hours with the catalog out viscously circling my book choices. Even going so far as to calculate the total price. I would fantasize and visualize of all the adventures I would go on with my book characters. I would become one with them, locked in my room for hours in fantasy land.
You see, through books I could escape into alternate realities. My safe haven.










It was a dream come true once I entered the room. There were watermelon scented erasers. They smelled so good I had to keep myself from chewing them. (Gross I know LOL)


I began to accumulate many books. So much to the point where my mom began throwing them out. I guess all I needed was a quality bookcase. LOL The books were all stacked up around my room. On my dressers piled high. On the floor, I can see it now. My old room, it's like I never really left.

What first began as a hobby later turned into a career choice. I mean there I was sitting in my room with all these collections of works, my works! Portfolios galore.



My first blog was on this site called matmice created by three sisters. I had teamed up with another aspiring writer my age that started off as a penpal. There we'd post various short stories.
It was called Destiny Writers. For young people who thought writing was their destiny. WHo knows maybe someday that'll be a publishing company owned by me. LOL










The signs were all there. I can remember 11 years old at my beauty pageant National American Miss. At the Downtown Brooklyn Marriott hotel. When it was my turn to speak & introduce myself. I said these exact words:
"Hi, my name is AGC from Brooklyn, NY and I am an aspiring author."

While everyone else said the usual professions like doctor and lawyer I had begged to differ and said proudly author. At the time I struggled with the validity of that very statement. I had my doubts. What steps would it take to become an author? Do I have what it takes?

Shortly after as I entered the 6th grade I had taken very long to finish an assignment where we were required to write some sort of short story fictional yet based on our lives. That's when suddenly it hit me. The project was titled Framed. At this age I realized I could used writing as an outlet of expression. My backstory was juicy and no one would ever suspect that those terrifying tales were of my own account.

The story was about my father being framed and the SWAT team coming to take him down as he was placed on the FBI's most wanted list. It was a very vivid tale of guns, police sirens and surveillance. This was all true in real life except for the fact that I switched it to him being Framed. It was a suspense type story modeled after my favorite genre. At this age I had spent hours reading mystery books, fascinated to uncover the truth.

My favorite author was Joan Lowery Nixon. I would spend time rereading the about the author section. Fantasizing about it being me one day. Her book The kidnapping of Christina Lattimore had me so hooked I completed it in one day.

My admiration for authors like her is what had inspired me to write MY story. After I gave it in. My teacher pulled me aside. She said "AGC I need to speak with you."
Confused I obeyed her wishes.
"Who wrote this for you?" She had my paper in her hand. I had stapled it nicely to a crisp piece of construction paper. A tactic many of us did back in the day for presentation purposes.

At this point I was very confused. Confused because that writing seemed to flow so naturally out of my mind and onto the paper that I hadn't realized how good the paper actually was.

She was fascinated by the story. She assumed that an adult had written it for me or that I had plagiarized. I reassured her repeatedly that it was my own original work. She then grabbed my hand and told me that I am an extremely talented writer and she can see me in the writing profession someday.

I was very surprised. I had a grown woman telling me, this 11 year old that I was going to write someday. She said that she kept rereading and rereading the paper. It had her really engaged. Something I'm not unfamiliar with hearing today, almost twenty years later.

During puberty stage my knack for writing took on a more dedicated turn. It was then that I knew I had wanted to write.

Throughout Junior High I had begun writing a lot of poetry. Some of which I still have today. Me having such keen memory actually memorized some. The transition from child into teenage-hood as a female was especially difficult and confusing time for me. It was a time where you were encouraged and pressured by peers to leave "childish" things behind. Most of which I valued and held dear.


I still liked dolls, cartoons,  the whole 9 yards. But I was discouraged from being me all for the sake of being "popular"

I had become a loner. Feeling no sense of belonging. Wise beyond my years. The same feeling of disconnect that still persists till this day. I began to withdraw and spend hours reading, reading and reading. I felt my purpose on this Earth was to write.

The poem went something like this:

I was taken away with no hopes no dreams
Although it may seem like my life is gleaming
beaming like the sun
That is not what its become
My life is a gaping black hole
Ready to steal your soul


When it came time to graduate and choose high schools I stumbled upon the writing section in the high school manual. I circled every single highschool that had writing listed. I ended up choosing BREC: Bayard Rustin Educational Complex. They actually had a writing academy listed as their floors were divided by major interest. Actually, they didn't really practice what they "preached".
I don't remember ANY emphasis on writing.

Once I left that school I attended NMB Senior High in Miami. I took a Creative Writing course and began writing newspaper article style. I still continued my mystery short stories about hauntings, suicide and ghosts. My teachers began having me read to the class for several hours. It was like something out of a book they told me.

By the time 2009 came I was in high school again. John Dewey. I had took advantage of the fact that we could actually plan our "programs" similar to how they do in college. I began taking various journalism, creative writing & fiction courses, even poetry. There my writing improved. I began writing on topics such as anthropology. I spent almost every day in the library for hours on end. Intoxicated by the scent of books, the feel and look.

The ideas surged through me like electricity. Through writing I could live again.

By the time I was in "junior" year I had begun collecting various materials from SUNY and CUNY schools all with CreativeWriting and Journalism listed as majors. I still have hundreds of this material today. I had hopes of going away to places like SUNY Plattsburgh. I spent all day looking at the brochures.

I was going to be a journalist. Even possibly an investigative journalist. Like something you'd see on AlJazeera or VICE.

But life seemed to have other plans for AGC. I went on a downward spiral around 2010 and stopped writing and adopted alcohol, promiscuity and marijuana instead. I just wanted to fit in with everyone else. Since no one was on my level intellectually I would stoop down to theirs. So, I settled. It didn't get me very far because I was trapping my actual potential through being disoriented on drugs and alcohol. But eventually my true calling began slipping through this despite its power.

I didn't graduate with my class of 2011. Tried to finish in 2012, but ended up transferring in 2013. I started writing again. More investigative type articles on controversial topics such as FGM and Abortion.

I tried to attend college but ended up owing money from a proprietary for-profit school I took out loans from that promised me I could obtain a h.s. diploma and associates degree.

When the money was paid off it was already 2015. So I started KBCC with no knowledge of their writing programs. I went back into Human Services with a concentration in CASAC.

i wrote several academic essays for Psychology, Sociology and Mental Health. I was able to fuel my passion for writing and combine it with my current major. It really worked for me. My professors were always blown away by my work. It took a tremendous amount of research for me to be able to write 20 pages on psychology and racial biases, nativism, islamophobia etc.

I would go over the minimum pages and word count. Then I realized wait I'm a writer at heart who's been stifling myself due to the pressure of people saying writers don't make money. Now I'm in the field of Social Work where the argument is constantly social workers burn out and end up poor.

Well I believe that it's better to be content with your profession than just dong it for the money. I have been able to do my writing but also love my field of mental Health no matter how strenuous. I have combined both and run a blog I wish to turn into a non-profit for young adults in underserved communities.

I have taken a course Mental Health Management and Organization and have two proposals here I presented in front of a panel. I've been working with authors, business owners, entrepreneurs. All people that share the same vision.

I don't regret taking up Mental Health because I am able to write and distribute my works in the field. In a way I am 100% still a writer. College has allowed me to perfect my writing. It also has allowed me to come to the realization that I am a writer at heart. I no longer will ignore and stifle my calling. My calling is to uplift young women, men and anyone in need, share my story and help guide them to becoming the best them.

And Voila! throughout my journey I have two books I will be self-publishing by 2019.
My memoir similar to the Framed story I wrote at 11 years old where my teacher knew I was destined to write. She saw something in me that perhaps I couldn't actually identify yet, being so young. My self-help book is in its second draft stage and should be published by the end of this year. A great book so empower yourself with and curl up with this Winter with a cup of cocoa. LOL

So I guess I'll end with why I decided to bore you to death with my life story of writing lol. I truly believe that we don't really stray too far from the qualities we had as children. Cause if you look at my life you'll see that I am still who i was before. Just more matured. My writing skills have really improved as well as my passion for the craft. I am a writer at heart and always will be. Now I have decided to look into freelance writing as a paid job.

It's like that saying
"If something is meant to be it'll come back"
And Voila! writing has been able to come back to me after the fog from the wayward fazes I went through as a teen cleared. And now it's stronger and I will be more than just an aspiring author and writer as I believed when I was 11 on that pageant stage because I am that now.

Never give up your dreams for others input and negative pre conceived notions regarding your career.
Only you know what's best for you.
-Signing off
AGC

Calculon: The Self-Absorbed Robot from Futurama

He's so full of himself LOL

He's an overly dramatic, histrionic psychopath! LOL

Say Hello to the infamous Calculon. The "star" of Futurama's hit daytime television soap opera All My Circuits. A parody of All My Children.

Just the mere utter of his name sends my eyes rolling. LOL 

He has an over-inflated sense of importance 

His acting skills are definitely cringe-worthy times a million. He performs with the same affect regardless of the scene. While watching him it sends my brain cells in a fit as they're being deprived of anything worth watching. 

To make matters worse he can't even seem to remember his lines and can be repeatedly heard yelling "LINE?" to refresh his memory causing the set to constantly hault to accommodate his incompetence. Talk about inconsiderate! It seems as if he doesn't even study the roles. He has one steady act: 

He operates with a Take it or Leave it attitude where the rules of acting are reversed. In our world actors are made to morph into characters to invoke specific emotions within the viewer. It's all about appealing to the viewer's needs and expectations. It's a gift. On the contrary in Futurama he forces his viewers to like him no matter what.

I think what we have here is a bunch of enablers. For without them supporting this nonsense Calculon wouldn't be able to thrive. His inflated self-esteem is validated by the admiration of his fans.

Somebody please get this guy some quality acting coaching!

This clip really stuck with me & had me laughing for years actually. He starts off by telling the bride & groom that it's "all about them". Then quickly turns away from them to sing a song entirely about himself. The lyrics are below:

Who's that singing at your wedding?
It's Calculon
Calculon, Calculon-on!

What was supposed to be a special moment for two. With them of course as the center of attention quickly turned into yet again a moment and opportunity for Calculon to quickly shift the focus onto himself.

He's so devoted to his "acting career" that he died while in the process of a suicide scene on All My Circuits. He wanted it to look more believable so he ended up actually committing suicide accidentally. Talk about dedicated. XD

Hermes Conrad another Jamaican animated stereotype Jamaicans depicted in cartoons

Okay, by now I'm sure were all used to those forced accents used to voice Jamaican characters in cartoons. It's funny because the voices are never spot on. It seems as if A. They're not even trying or B. They purposely butcher the accent so that we can laugh harder. Listening to most of the scenes involving alleged Jamaican characters like the nannys on Family Guy it sounds to me like their mimicking other Caribbean accents. 

Here's a clip from American Dad Hayley sings a song named "Family Get Ya High" of course taking a jab at Jamaica constantly being associated with Ganja smoking. But get this they're actually in the Bahamas lol. Completely differently island. This is the episode named Bahama Mama.

Another weed reference LOL 

Hermes Conrad's wife for example LaBarbara sounds mostly like her ex husband Barbados Slim. Who of course is from Barbados. 

Kind of like when I was growing up and would dance in the wining style not unfamiliar to the Caribbean I would immediately be labeled as Jamaican. When in fact I am not. My father is Guyanese although I was raised in a Jamaican household/community well into my late teens. 

Or when people see another flag from the Caribbean they automatically assume it's the Jamaican flag. LOL Or when you identify a different country they say "That's by Jamaica right?" LOL

Jamaica is extremely popular and their culture is widespread.

Their cuisine and dance is highly influential. When speaking on the Dancehall scene those who aren't actual descendants of the island aren't discriminated against because they are a part of THE CULTURE.  So I like to say Jamaican by association or Honorary Jamaican. LOL

Now enough about that and onto Hermes Conrad. Hermes happens to be one of my favorite characters. He's unafraid to exert his Jamaican pride throughout the series. Hermes is a limbo champion who can out limbo almost anyone except for the time he was beat by Barbados slim after he put on a lot of weight over the years and Professor Farnsworth created a suit for him to make him ultra fast and hold in his fat. Hermes forever got too carried away and when mid limbo on his back crouched down his fat escaped the suit and caused the hurdle to malfunction.

His accent is pretty good if I must say so myself. His overusage of the word MON in replacement of MAN places emphasis on the fact that he is Jamaican. LOL.

It doesn't just end with Hermes though. He likes to keep his country's pride alive in the entire family. Hermes and Labarbara's son Dwight Conrad sports a large Jamaican flag across his shirt. 

TALK ABOUT PRIDE! LOL!

Toward the end of this song you can hear Hermes exerting Jamaican pride urging everyone to say JAMAICA! lol Hermes goes Now everybody say JAMAICA! They repeat JAMAICA!

The beat of the song has an island feel to it. One can even make out some steel drums being used as instruments. If you're unfamiliar with steel pans or drums view the clip below lol.

Who else but Hermes? XD

Here he is representing Earth in the Olympics like other Jamaican athletes like Usain Bolt.

Here he is eating Curry Goat it's so spicy if burns a hole str8 to hell which ironically burns the Robot Devil. Even so like a true Caribbean he stilll adds hot sauce XD!

Hermes catch phrases are almost lyrical perhaps a hint at Jamaican's great lyrical ability within their music. Most of his phrases rhyme. Check out some of his phrases below.

Here he is keeping limboing alive.

ANIMATED LOOK ALIKES HOMER SIMPSON & BENDER RODRIGUEZ

Exhibit A: Behold Homer Simpson on the left, yellow as ever then feast your eyes on what seems like a silver version of him. 

I mean like there's almost no difference here except for that Bender is a robot and Homer is a human. 

Okay so to support my claims let's go ahead & do a checklist for similarities

1. Big Round Bulging Eyes  ✔
2. Cylinder like head shape ✔
3. Alcoholism or in Bender's case addiction to the robot equivalent of oil ✔
4. "Accessory" on top of head ✔
Bender= Antenna
Homer= 2 strands of hair 
5.  er ending of name ✔
Bender-Homer 
6. Laziness ✔

Let's take a look at when Bender got to see what his life would be like as a human.

Still drunk ✔

White shirt ✔

Blue jeans ✔

Gluttony ✔

Now let's take a look at when Bender met Homer.

TWINS! LOL

Riley v Huey & Other Hidden Meanings Revealed in the Boondocks (Under Construction)

Two brothers from the "Ghetto" of Chicago. Taken into care by their Grandad Robert Freeman into a upper middle class suburban neighborhood Woodcrest. Two brothers from the same womb but quite surprisingly couldn't be more different.

Meet Riley Freeman.
Unlike Huey his older brother who "walks to the beat of his own drum" Riley can be seen emulating rappers like Thugnificent from Lethal Interjection. From his clothing choices to his actions & belief system.

He is almost the splitting image of his idols. Who of course sing music promoting gun violence and gang glorification, objectification of women and participation in get money quick schemes like drug dealing.

Then there's his other favorite artist Ganstalicious. See below.

Soon after listening to Ganstalicious Riley adopted a new style of dress. Equipped with a "man bag" and skimpy clothing bearing midriff.

In contrast let's meet Huey Freeman.

Huey Freeman definitely like myself is an old soul. He's usually depicted as miserable and drained from being constantly surrounded by others unlike himself. He's usually depicted as an enemy of the state or crazy conspiracy theorist. In certain episodes he's had to flee his home because of being sought after by government officials. He's an avid reader and isn't wooed by the latest fads usually eaten up by other youth his age. He's unfazed. He's anti-government and when researching information on The Black Panther party I came across Huey P. Newton as being its founder.

Perhaps another jab? The creator of the Boondocks sure is clever with his placement of symbolic names. Its weird because when trying to find a term to describe Huey Freeman's ideals and values the first thing I kept thinking of was Black Panther ideals. Low and behold the creator of The BPP's name is Huey.

Huey is constantly visited by Ghost Face Killa (which ironically isn't dead) kind of like a guardian angel who he turns to when in need of guidance. Unlike his brother Riley I would say his ideals align more with "conscious" rappers like Common and artists of the 80's etc. When Hip-Hop meant Higher Internal Power Helping Our People according to Professor Griff of the group Public Enemy. It once had an uplifting tone promoting unity and self-sufficiency. In total contrast to the music of today which one can argue instills materialism and superficial ideals within our people.
This constant need to "look the part" can be in part held responsible for allowing this generational cycle of poverty to thrive. Priorities aren't in order.

For instance when Riley was obsessed with this chain given to him by the Lethal Interjection crew. In the episode Shinin. Riley's chain was stolen by bully Bush Magnus and later tried to be taken back by a character voiced by Busta Rhymes. Bush Magnus ended up surprisingly beating him up just as he did Riley and later told them they could have the chain back because it was of no value to him and it was priced as being fake, comprised of Cubic Zirconia and other cheap metals.

Fast forward to 0.43 to hear Butch Magnus talk about the chain having no value

Like the time when he conducted an experiment to see how Black TV (BET etc) could effect one's health.



Now let's meet Tom.
Tom Du Bois? perhaps reference to W.E.B Du Bois
In his work Da Souls of Black Folk he speaks of the term Double Consciousness.
Could the two brothers represent the two soul warring within one body that Du Bois spoke of?
I myself like to say that I'm almost like a Chameleon of sorts. I believe my grandmother's motto: "There's a time and a place for everything."
To me that kind of means being able to embrace certain cultural aspects. The more favorable ones like Soul Food, The Cha Cha Slide at family get togethers etc.
There's also times when I can appreciate things like the new dance craze not unlike Riley Freeman.
I have different types of people I hang around, that I wouldn't necessarily have cross paths.
I can twerk, pretty well actually. But then there's the me that most people see. The "productive" side.
The ultra professional, articulate, over-achiever.

Tom Du Bois within the Black community may be looked at as a "Coon" or sell out to some. As his wife is Caucasian. He "speaks white" without using slang and in complete sentences. Tom is an attorney & yes all those degrees and awards lining the wall behind him are his.
Double consciousness within the Black community causes a very internal conflict. Double consciousness is best summed up as being “two souls” and or personalities warring within one body. This is W.E.B Du Bois' concept from his work “The Souls of Black folk”. One soul aspires to be something and succeed in life but this success is hardly achievable because trying to advance and not succumbing to the negative stereotypes commonly associated with being Black i.e. violence and poverty. may cause you to be disowned by your own fellow Blacks. Aspiring to be something and pursue things like education or employment is mislabeled as “abandoning your culture”.


Unfortunately at times in order to advance you must distance yourself from people in your race that only associates following the crowd and living in a never ending cycle of poverty, struggle, and crime as defining Blackness. Distancing yourself is seen as embracing Whiteness. This is due to the fact that Whiteness is associated with anything positive and successful. Education is mislabeled as being White, wealth is seen as also being White. Blackness is the opposite therefore if you achieve success you’re now aspiring to be not successful but transform into White as a whole. You’re “replacing” and “forgetting” your Blackness. Fear of resentment from your own race for your interest in anything considered White i.e. wanting to go to college discourages you from advancing. The other soul aims to please your own race and maintain loyalty to them which ultimately results in your demise.

Tom's wife Sarah

I'd like to leave you with the saying:
"Damned if you do, damned if you don't."
You see in this life you can't possibly please everyone. Me, nor anyone else in this race is the face of Black people. Just because you're part of a specific ethnic background doesn't make you responsible for others actions. That type of pressure can only work in vain. I'll leave you all with a link to a very impactful video of a boy who survived a suicide attempt. When asked what his motive was he blmd it on feeling like he had to challenge stereotypes commonly associated with Blacks.

So he had spent his life, like myself overachieving with attempts to "restore" the perception of the Black race and Black youth. This will be the topic of part II of this article. Stay Tuned. Voice your thoughts, whether in opposition or in alignment.- AGC

AGC- The young hopeless romantic. Perhaps forever alone.

I feel so alone. I long for a man's touch warm embrace. The way his stubble would rub against my soft skin. As I write this I'm crying with a deep stinging pain straight through to my soul. I feel a void within my heart. I have so much to offer. Yet I'm still single. I want so much to love. But that part of my life is nonexistent. I'm funny, compassionate, goal-oriented, intelligent. A great cook, supportive, yet I still lay here every single night alone. Crying and sobbing into my pillows constantly begging the creator and the universe why he hasn't sent my Mr. Right to me yet. Everytime I meet a guy and were deep in stimulating intellectual conversation the question plagues my mind Is this the one? You see. Although very much sexual I'm looking for a spiritual connection as well. I see all the couples my age on the internet. I feel outcasted once again. Perhaps many gentleman have been thrown my way but I unconsciously dodged them. That's because there's more than just a pretty face that attracts me. My heart aches at the passion fueled nights I spent with my ex. We would stay awake chasing each other around childlishly frolicking through the house. With him I could be myself. He knew me inside and out. I was going to marry him. But it was abruptly stopped. Apparently not a part of God's plan for me. Cause you know how it goes. First comes love then comes marriage then shortly after the baby in the baby carriage. Where the f#!& is the guy for me? Where are you!? Cause right now I feel destined to be alone for the rest of my life.

Am I seeing double? Itchy & Scratchy or Tom & Jerry?

We all know that even outside of animation world, here in our world in the "animal kingdom" the cat and mouse have a reputation for being sworn enemies. 

Even in the themesong/ intro one can hardly ignore the similarities. That hypnotic like circular pattern almost target like.

Cats using mice as their prey, they're a good mouse deterrent. And have been used for rodent control since Ancient Egyptian times.

Except different from real life it seems the mouse involved in both shows is just as tough, if not tougher than Mr. Cat lol

From the above thumbnails it's hard to distinguish between the two. 

Perhaps through Itchy and Scratchy was Matt Groening's attempt at taking a jab at televisions ability to negatively influence young viewers. Since young viewers tend to want to emulate what they see. 

Every morning Bart and Lisa can be seen plopped down in front of the T.V. eagerly thrilled at the violent interactions between their beloved Itchy & Scratchy. Not very child friendly.

Itchy and Scratchy though in comparison to Tom and Jerry goes way beyond simple cat and mouse competition that we may observe in our home world. 

Poor Scratchy can never win against that clever mouse Itchy. Itchy is a homicidal mouse hellbent on murdering the Tomcat. 

In conclusion, it seems that the parents of The Simpsons aren't really monitoring their children's T.V. programming choices. Similarly to our world where busy parents who work all day come home thrilled to have their children "behaving". The television serves as a method to get children preoccupied thus lessening the strain on parents.

It also seems that Lisa, Bart and various other children of Springfield are desensitized to violence after repeated viewing of this program. Seemingly innocent but what affect if any does it really have on their minds and development? 

The laughter says it all.

Critical Analysis of Makeup on Empty Space by Anne Waldman

Critical Analysis of Makeup on Empty Space by Anne Waldman

 

Waldman’s poem seems to be one about her transition from living a mediocre life where she feels compelled to follow society’s norms set for women into accepting and loving herself naturally. Throughout the poem she wants the reader to realize she is not accepting of what she is doing. She seems almost invisible, and disassociated.
She’s mad to live up to societal norms and she wears a mask to pretend that she is in acceptance. When in actuality she is in opposition. There is a façade. The empty space symbolizes discontent with what’s occurring. She almost depicts herself as an unwilling participant, very mannequin like. The speaker is simply existing but unalive and unenthusiastic.  

“Rouge blushing on empty space”

Here her cheeks are described as basically invisible.

“I am sticking wire pins into empty space”

“Gold clips, lacquer combs, plastic hairpins on empty space.”

This seems to be her putting bobby pins into her hair. But it’s almost like she’s being forced to do so. Like it’s simply routine for her but she doesn’t look forward to it anymore. She sounds compelled. As a woman there is this pressure to be beautiful and follow trends hence the makeup, clothes and hairstyling. However, through the speaker’s wording it sounds as if she’s tired of following society’s perceptions of beauty and would rather be natural.

Her usage of the word pasting, painting and piling places emphasis on the fact that these things are simply add-ons, artificial and unoriginal. Foundation is false skin etc.

“Pasting eyelashes on empty space,

painting the eyebrows of empty space,

piling creams on empty space.”

She’s “prettying up” her issues and pain hidden beneath her pretty exterior. Her outward appearance is a distraction from reality. It’s like her life was already made out for her and she is merely a participant.

“I am putting makeup on empty space.”

Empty space may symbolize depression. She wants you to know that there’s still this emptiness that lingers. Despite the fancy clothing and makeup material things aren’t the solution to that inadequate feeling.

“You put it all on, you paint your nails, you put on scarves, all the time adorning empty space.”

“bangles on wrists,

spinning necklaces around empty space.”

“Someone was always intruding to make you forget empty space.”

The intruder maybe society’s influence i.e. media, magazines etc.

“I am hanging ornaments on empty space”

“Let’s talk of dressing the body with strange adornments.”

This line causes me to envision a Christmas tree. Yes, the tree is beautiful and admired, sought after. However, the tree’s reality is very different from how we perceive it. It is almost as if the tree is exploited for our amusement. The tree has no say in its participation in these festivities.

It can no longer thrive for it has been taken without consent from nature, its home. The decorations cannot take away from the fact that the tree is dying. The tree is only useful during a select time. After Christmas it will be tossed out on the curb until next Christmas when it is replaced. Like the tree women are objectified and exploited just for the sake of what’s considered normal.

Critical Analysis of Robert Frost’s Birches

Frost’s poem Birches seems to be a reflection of his life. While looking at Birch trees he begins to have flashbacks of his boyhood. The speaker envisions young boys swinging from the trees.

Line 3 states:

“I like to think some boy’s been swinging them”

Throughout the poem the speaker speaks on the birch trees resilience, perseverance, and triumph through season changes such as ice storms during the Winter, Autumn when the leaves begin to fall off leaving the trees bare and vulnerable. Seasons also indicates the speaker growing older.

Lines 14-15

“They are dragged to the withered bracken by the load, And they seem not to break”

Line 8

“As the breeze rises, and turn many-colored” Perhaps a reference to Fall.

Line 10

“Soon the sun’s warmth makes them shed crystal shells shattering and avalanching on the snow-crust” A spring/winter reference.

 

Line 16

though once they are bowed

“So low for long, they never right themselves:

Through these lines the speaker is trying to communicate feelings of remorse and regret. The birch trees, now boys have grown older. The speaker has aged and is unable to gain his youth back.

This theme continues in the next lines 17-18

“You may see their trunks arching in the woods

Years afterwards, trailing their leaves on the ground”

 

Line 21:

“But I was going to say when Truth broke in

With all her matter-of-fact about the ice storm”

 

The speaker like many youths was eager to grown into adulthood. However, once reality hit of the hardships faced as an adult he began to reflect on the lectures given by his elders. Truth was given a gender and took on a person. Truth and matter of fact are terms indicating the accuracy of whoever gave him the advice as a child. He is now facing the things forewarned by the adults in his life who at the time had faced the same struggles he is now facing.

 

 

Line 23

“I should prefer to have some boy bend them”

When the speaker was a child he thought the advice from adults were due to mistrust and them being intrusive. This was his only struggle. Since then as an adult he’s faced way more. The speaker is saying that he’d rather go through what he thought was difficult and unfair back then than what he is facing now. The two can’t compare as children have less responsibilities.

Lines 24 and 25:

“As he went out and in to fetch the cows”

 “Some boy too far from town to learn baseball. Whose only play was what he found himself.”

 

This boy is unlike Frost as a child. While the speaker was preoccupied with keeping up with adults. This boy depicted in the poem is enjoying his childhood, just being a kid. He’s enjoying the small things available to him in life unlike the “privileged” boy playing baseball. Perhaps this boy is from a rural area hence the cow reference. He’s not a city boy. This fact enables him to be more humble and appreciative of his surroundings. Through the climbing of birch trees, he’s able to be imaginative as a child should be. He made due with what he found in his environment as he didn’t have the luxury of playing sports like the boy from town.

 

Lines 28-30

“One by one he subdued his father’s trees

By riding them down over and over again

Until he took the stiffness out of them”

 

The boy through experiencing his childhood has

This “stiffness” the speaker refers to can be the serious old person or adult whose ability to laugh and feel happiness has been almost stolen due to the demands of adulthood. After working undesirable jobs just to make ends meet and receiving eviction notices and overdue payment warnings one finds it hard to smile. It becomes very hard to see the positive side of things.

But while the adult sees the child playing he too can experience vicariously through the innocent child the same joy again. The happiness and hope is restored in the adult through this child. In this stanza, the trees are a symbol of his father’s stern demeanor, his extra baggage.

 

The speaker lost sight of what was really important and when he realized it was too late. As youth coming of age we are often preoccupied by fads. We go through “growing pains” as we hit puberty and maturation. This is a very confusing and challenging time for them as they search for a sense of belonging. They don’t really have an identity yet. They may idolize celebrities or even older adults. What’s interpreted as defiance from youth by adults may actually be a lack of communication and a misunderstanding.

Youth are reluctant to confide in adults about what they’re feeling because they don’t know exactly what’s occurring. That’s when the distance is created. During this time youth may feel more of a connection with their peers. Hormonal changes can contribute to mood swings. As youth distance, themselves their parents perceive this as isolation. Things that were formerly interesting may be replaced with new interests and habits.

This is all normal however, time is limited. In the speaker’s case while he was busy being a teenager his family was neglected. Before he knew it, he was an old man and those in his life had passed on. For this he harbors internal guilt.

“He learned all there was about not launching out too soon.”

Again, the speaker is expressing regret, the boy in the poem is a glance into the past. He’s writing a poem to his former self giving him insight into adult life. He’s gone back in time to warn his former self to appreciate life while you can.

In lines 41-42 the speaker blatantly expresses his regret with rushing to grow into adulthood.

“So, I once was a swinger of birches

And so I dream of going back to be”

 

Lines 43-54

“It’s when I’m weary of considerations,

And life is too much like a pathless wood

Where your face burns and tickles with the cobwebs

Broken across it, and one eye is weeping

From a twig’s having lashed across it open”

 

Life for Frost has become so stressful as an adult that when he faces obstacles he envisions himself as a carefree, fun loving, innocent little boy again. He thinks of all the times he took for granted and that now he can never get that back. This puts him in a depression. Life has assaulted him, the cobwebs symbolizing time passing. The pain inflicted by the twig is the hardships of life.

 

As children, little girls are given dolls that mimic actual infants. Were taught that this is the norm. They even excrete waste in diapers and were made to change them, burp them and feed them. Perhaps it is preparation for motherhood but I believe that children should be children and not so quick to want to do the things adults do. Motherhood is not a game, babies are not toys or accessories.

 

As a child I was obsessed with growing older. It began innocently with putting on my mother’s high heels and makeup then progressed. I would douse my face with my grandmother’s Mary Kay toner and although it burned I would persist. It hurts to be beautiful is a phrase I’d heard before. I wanted to be a woman.

Later on, “I can’t wait to be 16 I would say” But, this was simply because I was tired of being dictated to and I felt beyond my years compared to others my age. I felt that my parents didn’t trust that I was capable of making decisions. This was an insult to my intelligence. I felt sheltered and restricted. I later realized once I ventured out onto my own how naïve I had been.

 

 I found out how much I didn’t know. It took me time to learn skills to survive on the outside. My struggles left me in constant stress and agony reminiscing about the times I took for granted. The times where I’d blow miniscule things out of proportion and thought I needed to escape from my parent’s care. But by then it was too late and I was already an adult in my twenties and couldn’t dare stomach the courage to ask my parents to move back in.

I put myself into the world prematurely, without any education on how things went and had to learn along the way. Therefore, my childhood ended abruptly. I can empathize with the speaker because I’ve endured that same feeling of having your life slip away from you. It is a very painful feeling.

 

 

I’m riddled with guilt for how I’ve treated my family. My younger siblings, my now aging parents and grandparents. I quickly realized that everything they warned me against was in fact very true. But, I had to learn the hard way through experiencing those things for myself. Sometimes, you must see it to believe it which is what I did. My baby siblings are now teenagers and going through the exact phase I was when I left home.

 

 

 My little brother was so lively before always interested in me, and all I did was push him away. I was too busy chasing puppy love and my friends. Now he’s distant and I try to reach out but end up hurt in the process. I wish I would’ve cherished him as a child. I was a misguided, confused, selfish teenager worried about the wrong things. The same crowds I was following I am no longer in contact with now.

I’m trying desperately to form a relationship again with those I pushed away and it’s hard. I like the speaker of this poem, advise youth against disrespecting their parents and leaving home early without proper preparation. I do work now mentoring at-risk youth. I want to serve as a resource and support system for them because they need positive role models.

 

The last line states:

“One could do worse than be a swinger of birches.”

In conclusion, although as children we think we have it bad and we can’t wait to grow older. This is just because of the restrictions we have as children. We are desperate for independence at times which is why we fantasize about “I can’t wait to get older”. As he got older though he began to appreciate being a boy. Although birch trees may injure you with scuffed knees, broken bones from falling off etc. These things are hardly things to worry about compared to the difficulties faced in adulthood. Through this poem the speaker is trying to communicate to the reader to be appreciative of things in life because you never know when they may end. Through Frost were reminded to cherish our childhoods and not take things for granted.